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Larry Wimble's "Cozy Mark IV" Site Miscellany I created this page for other resources and rants that just didn't fit elsewhere. Enjoy! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MGS L335 Spreadsheet October 28, 2003 Since I didn't want to use a sticky-stuff pump, I elected to buy a small scale on eBay. I then found as I was doing my first layup that I was ruining my Palm-Pilot by trying to do calculations on-the-fly and covering it with epoxy in the process. Thus, I created an MGS L335 Mixture Spreadsheet, and put it here in PDF format. It tells how much hardner to add to the resin and provides a total so you can simply pour in the hardner until the scale reaches the total. You'll need a printer that can do 11x17 pages.
My fiberglass box November 21, 2003 I discovered that a fiberglass storage box was going to be an absolute necessity for this project. My requirements for a glass box were as follows:
The inside dimensions are 42 x 40 x 12 (WHD) which is absolutely perfect. The locks on the outside are actually slim window locks which I chose because the catch can be mounted on the edge of a piece of plywood. The legs are mounted in such a way where it would be easy to put on a 22" leaf which I may do very soon. I then drilled and cut the racks that hold the dowel rods with seven different positions. Finally, I sanded a generous radius all the way around the table portion so that cloth that hangs off the edge won't catch on the wood. Epoxy bottle pumps May 31, 2004 I use MGS 335 epoxy, and have had the damndest time keeping my slow hardner from crystalizing. As instructed, I heat it to 50 to 60 degrees and it's supposed to return to clear, but it doesn't. I have to believe that it has something to do with the plastic container I've been storing it in, but then Jerry Schneider uses those same containers and doesn't have this problem. Anyway, I noted any amount in the cans that it comes in didn't crystalize.
I made a trip down to West Marine and found a bottle pumps kit for $10.00. The small pump fits the hardner bottle perfectly. The large pump doesn't fit the MGS resin bottle, but a little modification to the original bottle cap and I now have a complete pump set. Very handy and very recommended!
MGS and ambient temperature November 18, 2004 A few people have said that I'm taking the temperature thing too seriously. I point them to this text which I snipped out of a post to the Cozy mailing list by our esteemed colleague, Gary Hunter:
Because these products are primarily cycloaliphatic amines and stericly
hindered polyoxyalkyl amines accelerated with copious amounts of unreactive
ingredients, they tend to be sensitive to temperature during cure. If it
is too cool, (below 70F in my book) they will slow down dramatically of
course, but they can "B-Stage" as well. This is a physical state where the
resin is neither liquid or cross-linked sufficiently enough to be called a
plastic. It is "vitrified" and depending on how much is has crosslinked, it
can be a sticky taffy like substance to a brittle friable solid. Once it
has achieved this vitrified state, it can take a considerable amount of time
for it to continue curing past that vitrified state - if ever. Sometimes,
it is quite easy to mistakenly identify the brittle friable solid as genuine
cured plastic state. NOT GOOD. HOWEVER, in most cases, with the
addition of heat you can "re-start" the curing process and drive it to
completion. THIS IS WHY MGS recommends a post cure for their resin
systems.
If you must use the MGS systems, please be sure your room temperature is at
least 70F. Especially if your going to use the slow curing agent.
I have talked about the importance of temperature control many times before.
It is always important to control the "room temperature" at which ALL your
building materials are stored at prior to their use. I think it is well
worth the money to buy a window air conditioner for your garage or shop
area. It reduces the overall sweat factor.
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